Doing Business in Greenland - Book - Page 9
5 Employment
In Greenland the relationship between the employer and employee is
regulated by the individual employment agreement, legislation, and
collective agreements depending on the type of job positions, i.e. the
regulation, such as requirements to notice periods, salary levels, etc.
varies.
5.1 Employment Contracts’ Act
A new act on employment
contracts (Inatsisartut Act No. 16
of 21 November 2022) has been
passed by the Parliament of
Greenland, but it has not yet come
into force (February 2023). Still, we
advice that employment contracts
within the scope of the Act should
comply with this regulation.
5.2 Salaried Employees’ Act
The Salaried Employees’ Act
(Inatsisartut Act No. 11 of 29
November 2013) provides for
certain statutory rights to salaried
employees, which may only be
deviated from by agreement in
favour of the employees.
The Act entails a duty for the
employer to provide certain
information on the employer, the
pay and working conditions, notice
periods etc.
The scope of the Salaried
Employees Act is white-collar
employees, such as employees
engaged in clerical work, trade,
technical or clinical work (e.g.
geologists, engineers, nurses and
doctors),
management,
etc.
Members of the executive board
not subject to supervision are not
covered by the Act. Blue-collar
workers, such as mechanics, cooks,
carpenters, cleaning personnel
etc., are also outside the scope of
the Act.
If the employer fails to observe the
duty to provide information, the
employer may be ordered to pay
compensation to the employee.
It also a condition that the salaried
employees are not minors and work
15 hours or more per week in
average.
The Employment Contracts’ Act will
apply to employment relationships,
if the duration of the employment
exceeds one month, and the
average weekly working hours
exceed 15 hours.
The statutory rights include, among
other things, right to a minimum
notice period for termination (which
depends on the duration of the
employment), right to compensation
for unfair dismissal under certain
conditions, salary during sickness,
etc. Also, non-compete clauses are
subject to certain limitations and
payment.
5.3 Holiday Act
All employees in Greenland are
entitled to holidays in accordance
with the Holiday Act (Selfgovernment Act No. 12 of 3
November 2021).
Employees are entitled to take
holiday in up to 5 weeks (25 days)
per year. Employees accrue the
right to holidays when working for
the subsequent calendar year.
Employees may either receive a)
paid holiday, which means they
receive their normal wage when on
holiday, or b) a holiday allowance
of 12 % of the employees’ annual
pay.
Whether
an
employee
receives paid holiday or a holiday
allowance
depends
on
the
employee and the form of the
employment.
